Overview

In this completely updated edition of Henry Kamen's classic survey of the Spanish Inquisition,the authorincorporates the latest research in multiple languages to offer a new-and thought-provoking-view of this fascinating period. Kamen sets the notorious Christian tribunal into the broader context of Islamic and Jewish culture in the Mediterranean, reassesses its consequences for Jewish culture, measures its impact on Spain's intellectual life, and firmly rebuts a variety of myths and exaggerations that have distorted understandings of the Inquisition. He concludes with disturbing reflections on the impact of state security organizations in our own time.

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9780300180510

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Reviews

Kamen's 1965 The Spanish Inquisition set a standard of clarity and objectivity in a traditionally contentious field. This new edition, the fruit of 50 years of scholarship and meditation, corrects with hard facts and penetrating analysis many entrenched myths about Spain and her 350-year-long Inquisition. It will set the agenda for the next generation of Spanish intellectual historians. -David Gitlitz, author of Secrecy and Deceit: The Religion of the Crypto-Jews -- David Gitlitz Despite voluminous publication on the Spanish Inquisition over the past four decades, Kamen's work remains the most accessible, comprehensive, and substantively argued English-language introduction to the Spanish Inquisition. Incorporating a significant amount of new scholarship that has appeared in the fifteen years since the publication of the last edition, this volume retains its place in an increasingly dynamic field of study, and is a welcome refreshing of arguments from a known voice in the field. -Kimberly Lynn, Western Washington University -- Kimberly Lynn

'This book is the best general book on the Spanish Inquisition both for its range and its depth of information... Kamen reaffirms his contention that an all-powerful, torture-mad Inquisition is largely a 19th-century myth.' (Richard L. Kagan, New York Times Book Review) 'Mr. Kamen has presented a fine outline of this history, making good use of original material from the archives of the Inquisition in Simancas, Spain.' (Hugh Thomas, Wall Street Journal) 'A stimulating, provocative, and seminal study.' (John Tedeschi, Sixteenth Century Journal) 'Kamen's Spanish Inquisition is... learned, wide-ranging, and stimulating.' (John Edwards, Journal of Modern History)

Author Information

Henry Kamen is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a world authority on Spanish history. He lives in Greensboro, GA, and Barcelona, Spain.

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